Almost all blogs really do share the same problem. From new blogs to blogs that have been around for years, and even the blogs that belong to those big-name A-list bloggers. Your blog almost certainly has this problem, too. What is this huge, mysterious problem? Your archives. Here’s how it starts…

You set up your brand new blog and you start posting – frequently – like everybody says you’re supposed to. And each of those posts is well-researched, well-written and the best quality possible.

For the first month or two you have very little traffic, but that’s to be expected. However, as you continue filling your blog with all your remarkable content, those posts start rolling down your homepage and right into your archives.

Now, when traffic finally does start flowing to your blog, they land on your home page and all they see are your most recent 5 or 10 posts.

And the problem is compounded because almost all your visitors every day are first-time visitors.

So for the next few months or the next year, everyone who arrives on your blog is going to be busy reading all the content you’re currently adding and they’ll never make it to your archives where you already have months worth of remarkable content that they really need to see. All that hard work you did is wasted!

But, wait a minute. Here’s an easy solution…

Those old posts could be providing you with months, or even years, of content for your email autoresponder.

If you’ve never used an autoresponder, here’s how it works…

You load up emails in advance and schedule the frequency you want them to be sent. Each time a new subscriber joins your list he receives the first email in the series and then all others follow your preset email schedule.

So, let’s say you load up 12 emails, to be delivered one, every seven days. A subscriber who joins your list on February 1 would receive one email a week until the end of April. Another subscriber who joins your list on March 1 would receive one email a week until the end of May.

How To Send Readers To Your Archives

Offer your readers a clear benefit for subscribing by promising a free weekly tip sheet or newsletter. In each of your emails give your subscribers some fresh, unique information and then link to a relevant post in your archives.

Be sure to update those older posts before you start. Make sure all links are working, check for spelling and grammar errors and clean up formatting. And be sure to include a strong call to action to encourage your subscribers to share that post.

When you use this easy solution you’re providing additional value to your readers by giving them the opportunity to read those older posts they might never have seen. Not only are they reading your recent content, they’ll get to see every post you’ve ever written and all that remarkable content in your archives won’t just be taking up space.

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6 Comments

Rew

That is one great solution to getting traffic to your older posts. I frequently use my list subscribers as a source of blog traffic.

I would like to add another solution that’s been going great for me: a related posts plugin. It’s a great (and super easy) way to get people to your older posts. It lists a few (I personally have it set to 3) old posts that are related to the current one at the end if the post.

You’re right: using a related posts plugin is also a good thing to do.

It will help you get your visitors on your older articles by linking to them at the bottom of the recent ones.

Kevin Morgan

Good approach. I use Tweet Old Posts combined with a broken link checker and a monthly newsletter, reformatting on those that elicit interest. With over 600 posts I have to just do what I can between all those other life tasks, like sitting quietly with a cup of tea!

Thanks for the post Steven. Reusing old posts in your autoresponder series is an idea that I have heard before, and one that I will be using in the future. I currently share some of them on Twitter as Kevin suggested and use a related posts plugin as Rew said. I read another post recently that suggested republishing some of your old posts on other content sites, like Medium. I think they are all great ideas to get some additional mileage out of your old content.